Program Overview

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Fashion Atelier BA (Hons)

Overview

The Fashion Atelier course at UCA is a dream course for those passionate about the craft of fashion. This is the only course of its kind in the country and it demands full commitment from its students. Everything you do will result in a tangible fashion product; you’ll be making contemporary garments from the outset as you learn the specialist techniques required for creating bespoke fashion masterpieces.

What does atelier mean in fashion?

In fashion, an atelier is a specialised workshop where skilled designers craft high-end garments. At UCA, our Fashion Atelier degree immerses you in this tradition and equips you with the precision, craftsmanship, and luxury design skills needed to create bespoke pieces.

Course entry options

• BA (Hons) Fashion Atelier
• BA (Hons) Fashion Atelier with Integrated Foundation Year
• BA (Hons) Fashion Atelier with Professional Practice Year
• BA (Hons) Fashion Atelier with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year

Course details

BA (Hons) Fashion Atelier

• Institution code: C93
• UCAS code: W237
• Campus: Epsom
• Start date(s): September 2025, September 2026
• Duration: 3 years full-time
• Entry requirements:
  • 112 UCAS points
  • International equivalent qualifications

BA (Hons) Fashion Atelier with Integrated Foundation Year

• Institution code: C93
• UCAS code: W23A
• Campus: Epsom
• Start date(s): September 2025, September 2026
• Duration: 4 years full-time
• Entry requirements:
  • UK: 32 UCAS points
  • International / EU: 12 years of schooling (with good grades)

BA (Hons) Fashion Atelier with Professional Practice Year

• Institution code: C93
• UCAS code: W235
• Campus: Epsom
• Start date(s): September 2025, September 2026
• Duration: 4 years full-time
• Entry requirements:
  • 112 UCAS points
  • International equivalent qualifications

BA (Hons) Fashion Atelier with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year

• Institution code: C93
• UCAS code: W23B
• Campus: Epsom
• Start date(s): September 2025, September 2026
• Duration: 5 years full-time
• Entry requirements:
  • UK: 32 UCAS points
  • International / EU: 12 years of schooling (with good grades)

What you'll study

Integrated foundation year (if undertaken)

• UCA’s Integrated Foundation Year is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and more.
• You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind.

Year one

• Guest Speakers’ Series: You’ll join students across the School of Fashion & Textiles for our Industry Guest Speakers’ Series – you’ll hear from people with diverse backgrounds, skills and career paths representing the diversity of our student community, to inspire you to kick-start your thinking about your own career journey.
• Atelier principles: You’ll learn to understand the relationship between the fit, silhouette and balance of a finished sample garment, and how that relates to the successful alignment of the correct pattern to body shape and the right fabric selection for the design.
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - Creative Identities: You’ll develop your awareness and understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion, and promote progressive values and attitudes in creative practice.
• Contour & structure: You’ll practice basic boning and corsetry skills to realise both the silhouette and functionality of a complex and highly structured garment for an international celebrity client.
• Hackathon: In your first Opportunity Week, you’ll work with others on a high-intensity project.
• Atelier processes: You’ll work collaboratively in a design team to create a sample range of shirts and trousers.
• Fashion and cultural memory: You’ll explore methods used in the heritage sector by museum, costume and fashion professionals, to analyse objects and use a range of traditional visual, digital and written skills to communicate and utilise the findings successfully.
• Business of Fashion: You’ll be introduced to the fundamental principles of fashion business and practices through a global lens.
• ATOM Activities: ATOM activities are small pieces of individual learning that facilitate interdisciplinary exposure across UCA, and offer a flexible, impactful learning experience.
• PLE Digital Outcome: The PLE Digital Outcome is a purposefully edited, self-directed record of your constructive, level 4 engagement with and presence on, digital media platforms across the year.

Year two

• Career Week: You’ll start the second year with an intensive, interactive career preparation week.
• Bespoke tailoring: You’ll develop your ability to use informed research, design and technical processes to apply to the cut, fit, balance and finish in the development of contemporary bespoke tailoring.
• Reflective Practitioner: You’ll have the opportunity to explore global perspectives and influences on creative practice, drawing upon interactions with varied identities, cultures, politics, and histories.
• Dragon's Den: Have you ever watched Dragon’s Den on the BBC? Have you ever dreamed of being one of the contestants? Have you got a business idea?
• The Flou Studio: The drape and behaviour of cloth plays a key role within the creative cutting processes for this specialist unit.
• The Flou Contextualised: The bias cutting techniques of Madame Vionnet and the fabric manipulation techniques of Madame Gres have been a rich source of inspiration for contemporary designers all over the world.
• Placement: You’ll have the opportunity to undertake one of two options on this unit – a four-week minimum self-initiated work placement that’s relevant to your potential career direction or complete an industry case study which gives you the opportunity to study an aspect of the industry, that you identify as an area of interest, through the method of case study research.
• ATOM Activities and PLE Digital Outcome: These units are an extension of the Year 1 ATOM Activities and PLE Digital Outcome.
• Elective units: You also choose one elective unit from the list below:
  • Elective - Business Start-up: In this unit, you will identify, develop and present a design, product, service or mini collection using your previous unit outcomes as a starting point for your start up idea/ proof of concept.
  • Elective - Product Styling and e-Commerce: In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, product imagery and styling are a crucial tool in driving sales.
  • Elective - Digital Fashion: The creation of virtual worlds in fashion is becoming more and more popular.
  • Elective - Global Fashion Cultures: You’ll be introduced to the landscape of current academic research in Global Fashion Cultures and explore the ways in which fashion exerts behavioural, economic, environmental, political and social change in different geographical historical and contemporary contexts.
  • Elective - Fashion Film: Taking the technical and conceptual understanding you’ve developed, you’ll have the chance to work collaboratively on a resolved Fashion Film.

Year three

• Project pitch: Your final year begins with a project pitch week.
• Portfolio & career: Good portfolio skills are as essential in day-to-day Atelier practice as they are in the pursuit of acquiring employment as a confident creative and technical professional.
• Product development: You’ll extend and consolidate the core atelier practice skills developed over your first and second year, through engagement with in-depth design and product development processes.
• Graduate Career Fair: The Graduate Career Fair takes place during the first week of your second term to help your job search as you prepare for life after graduation.
• Realisation & portfolio: This unit will provide you with the opportunity to verify and articulate your understanding of atelier practice skills through the realisation of an atelier collection finished to the highest standards.

Fees & funding

Tuition fees - 2025/26

• UK: £9,535
• EU: £9,535 (see fee discount information)
• International: £16,950

UCA scholarships and fee discounts

At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Financial support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources.

Additional course costs

In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

Facilities & equipment

This course has a purpose-built studio space at The Wells - a new addition to complement our main campus and re-modelled to specifically enhance students' learning experience. On campus there are also screen printing facilities and photographic studios with professional quality lighting rigs.

Career opportunities

Our Fashion Atelier course at UCA has strong links with the industry, with students collaborating on projects for fashion companies including Ted Baker and Hardy Amies, and participating in high-profile competitions with organisations such as the British Fashion Council.

Entry requirements

Standard requirements

• 112 UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
• Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
• Distinction, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
• Merit at UAL Extended Diploma
• 112 UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
• 27-30 total points in the International Baccalaureate Diploma with at least 15 IB points at Higher level
• Four GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2)

Foundation year requirements

• 32 UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
• Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
• Pass, Pass, Pass at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
• Pass at UAL Extended Diploma
• 32 UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
• 24 points from the International Baccalaureate
• Four GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2)

International entry requirements

Please see the international entry requirements for your country.

English language requirements

Please see the English language requirements for your country.

Portfolio requirements

We’ll need to see your portfolio for this course:

• UK applicants: We will invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person.
• International applicants: We will ask you to submit an online portfolio. View Fashion Atelier portfolio advice.